EXCLUSIVE: Emmerdale’s Katie Hill – who plays Sarah Sugden on the ITV soap – warns there’s a ‘rocky road’ ahead as she details devastating consequences for Charity
19:10, 23 Sep 2026Updated 19:10, 23 Sep 2026
What’s next for the pair?
Sarah Sugden star Katie Hill has revealed some tragic twists on Emmerdale in the coming weeks.
Fans will know Charity Dingle is currently under investigation for the death of Dr Todd but it was Sarah who killed her. In a shocking turn of events, Charity confessed to Sarah that the baby she thought was hers and Jacob’s was actually Charity’s and Ross’.
Now, actress Katie has warned there’s more trouble ahead for Sarah and Charity in the coming weeks in an exclusive chat with The Mirror at the Inside Soap Awards.
“When the producer told me, I was so shocked. I had no idea it was going to be Sarah that was the one to kill her. It was a massive shock. She didn’t do it on purpose. It’s not in her nature to kill someone,” she said.
“She’s just now found herself in this really sticky situation. And then obviously with the baby thing on top, finding out about that, she’s just acted on impulse. She’s so angry, and she’s thought, ‘This is what I need to do to get my peace,’ type thing.”
However, Katie warned that despite her confessions, Sarah will continue to struggle.
“I think she’s still struggling with the idea that she’s killed someone. We’ll see her go through a bit of a rocky journey with like parenting, sleepless nights,” she told us.
“I think she’s just revisiting what she’s doing over and over again. And the guilt obviously did set in with Charity and reporting her but she’s gone and taken all that back. It’s a rocky road ahead for Sarah.”
Just a few weeks ago, Sarah found out that Charity had lied about the baby’s parentage.
Speaking about the impact of the storyline, Katie revealed: “In Sarah’s eyes, this is the end. I don’t think she believes she will ever be able to forgive her. The dynamic between the two characters has shifted completely. Sarah is taking charge now, and while it’s obviously devastating for Charity, Sarah just can’t see a way past this.
“From this moment on, as awful as it sounds, Charity is essentially dead to her. She doesn’t want Charity to have anything to do with her or Leyla. Sarah is setting very strict boundaries, she’s nothing to her now.”
Emmerdale spoilers for autumn and beyond will see one married couple tested, possible prison for Charity Dingle and the truth about baby Leyla is finally exposed
09:09, 29 Aug 2026Updated 09:09, 29 Aug 2026
It’s a busy autumn on Emmerdale(Image: ITV)
It’s a busy autumn on Emmerdale, with soap producer Sophie Roper hinting at some big twists on the way.
New spoilers, from a chat with the Mirror and other press, give away some big moments. From baby Leyla’s parentage being revealed, to Charity Dingle and Mack Boyd’s marriage being tested once more, there’s plenty ahead.
Sophie also discussed what’s ahead for Serena Sugden, suggesting she planned to re-establish the family as a whole – so hopefully that means more scenes with Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle too. Sophie teased Sarah’s future too, and whether her killer secret might come out.
Not so long ago, Sarah accidentally killed villain Dr Todd. But it seems there’s more turmoil ahead for her! Here’s what Sophie had to say about the coming weeks and months ahead on Emmerdale.
Sarah’s future sealed
Sophie spilled: “Through the course of this story we see the consequences of what Sarah has done, and we’ll look at that from a legal standpoint. We’ll also look at that from, how she’ll view herself and actually how she struggles to confront that trauma and how she struggles to deal with that.
“It’s not a simple story of justice by any means, and it’s complicated of course as many people might say it’s the justice that Todd deserved, and it opens all of that debate as well, but that’s something we’ll look at and we’ll explore through the course of the story.
“Through soap we will always try to find that there’s consequences, those things that you might lose as a result of doing something wrong, as the soap gods would call it. But I think this story is one that is driven by truth, it’s driven by emotion, I think we’ll ground it in family and life and everything that Sarah has to face.
“But absolutely there will be some legal consequences to this as we go through, that will take on lots of different twists and turns, so I think as you watch and you see the story unfold, we do skew expectations. There will be unexpected developments in this story that hopefully keep it engaging and it exciting as we go through.”
New scenes for the Sugdens
Sophie teased: “Serena’s a really fantastic new character within the show, and I think we’re absolutely re-establishing our wonderful clans and the Sugdens being a huge part of the show and the rural community that we enjoy and celebrate on the show.
“Serena also has a police background, so it was really interesting to include her in this dynamic with Sarah and Charity. I think as well, it’s three incredibly strong women all holding their own in how you deal with this impossible situation that presents.
“She is an incredibly moral character, Serena, and I think there’s a lot of trust between these three women that we potentially will go on to test as the story develops, but she’s a brilliant addition to all of this material and it absolutely embeds her in the Sugden clan and embeds her in that relationship of course between Sarah and Serena, as Sugdens.”
Mack and Charity future
Teasing if Charity’s marriage with Mack Boyd will survive all the drama, Sophie said: “I would say it will test them! This is a relationship where I feel Mack often is the one that’s having to respond to potentially bad decisions that his wife has made.
“They’re an incredibly strong couple, and we will fight for them to find a way through it, because I think for everything that Charity’s been through, for everything that they’ve done to one another, you know, it’s been a really kind of dramatic marriage and a dramatic relationship and they’ve faced a lot.
“But I think where they’re at their best is when they unite to overcome things together. I think we’ll test them, but overall it would be great to see them overcome that.”
Baby Leyla secret revealed
On whether Sarah and Charity will be able to move past the truth about baby Leyla, with her actually being Charity’s daughter not Sarah’s, Sophie said: “It’s going to test them.
“This is the ultimate betrayal, and this is a relationship and a dynamic where they are so important in each other’s lives, and there’s so much trust and love and respect that ultimately, I think it will test both of those characters in ways that we’ve never seen before.”
Sarah actress Katie Hill added: “It’ll just destroy her whole world. Charity’s given her the best gift she ever could have asked for, so for that to be taken away from her, it’ll definitely cause issues with their relationship.”
Charity’s prison fate teased
Sophie appeared to confirm that Charity wouldn’t be in prison for long. Asked about Charity and Sadie King scenes, with Sadie returning soon, Sophie teased: “They will be living in the same village, so I guess stay tuned and see whether there’s old histories reignited there.”
So “living in the same village” means Charity will be there, right? So does this confirm Charity will be staying put? Or does Charity go to prison after Sadie’s arrival?
Contains spoilers! Recent Emmerdale rumours teased an exit for Dawn Taylor amid a dramatic stunt week that saw one character dead and Joe Tate injured, but will Dawn stay on the show?
07:47, 28 Aug 2026Updated 07:47, 28 Aug 2026
Amid rumours Dawn is leaving Emmerdale, fans feared another character would die(Image: ITV)
Amid rumours Dawn is leaving Emmerdale, fans feared another character would die this week.
With Jimmy King dead, Joe Tate was caught up in an explosion leaving fans wondering if he would be killed off too. Thursday’s cliffhanger saw Dawn Taylor and Nicola King escaping the wedding marquee, that was meant to host pregnant Dawn’s wedding with Joe.
Dawn jilted Joe, and then changed her mind, but before they could reconcile, tragedy struck. Jimmy’s car went speeding into the marquee, injuring himself, Dawn and Joe.
Jimmy eventually died, and Nicola and Dawn were fine, leaving Joe’s fate unknown. As the marquee exploded, it was teased villain Joe had been killed off, as his loved ones watched on in shock.
But is Dawn leaving the show? It was reported earlier this year that actress Olivia Bromley had been written out of the ITV soap after eight years.
Nothing has been confirmed, but reports suggested Dawn would be leaving. It left some fans wondering if Joe would die, causing a grief-stricken Dawn to flee the village.
So while nothing has been confirmed by Emmerdale, scenes this week did tease an exit, when Dawn planned to run off with Billy Fletcher. She changed her mind, so could the exit rumours have been a mistake?
Might the escape plan have led some to think she would leave, but actually Dawn will stay? It’s these reports that sparked the exit claims in the first place, and as we say, they have not been backed up by the show or actress Olivia.
Perhaps the latest episode on Friday could add more to this, with Joe’s fate confirmed. Warning, the rest of this article contains spoilers from Friday’s episode now available on ITVX.
If you haven’t watched the episode yet, look away now! Friday’s visit to the Dales follows the immediate fallout of the explosion, as Graham Foster desperately tries to save Joe.
Joe is rescued and taken to hospital where it is revealed whether he lives or dies. We’ll leave that, and any other twists that air, for your own viewing.
The episode is now on ITVX and will air this evening at 8PM on ITV1. Producer Laura Shaw had teased Joe’s fate with the Mirror in a recent chat, where she appeared to confirm a big new storyline.
Laura hinted that Joe’s feud with his uncle Caleb Miligan would escalate after the wedding week, and would continue into 2027. We’re also expecting a “gothic and dark” autumn for the Tates.
